SALT #8
"Hey, I wasn’t that!" I scoff. "If anything, I had certain tiny tendencies in that direction. My hormone levels were just a bit elevated, sure, but that didn’t place me among betas with omega characteristics.
" I hesitate, but suddenly add, "In our case, something else happened that influenced this. "
Eliano shoots me a sharp, assessing look, but I decide to go all in.
"We discovered that we’re True Mates."
Dr. Cooper’s eyes widen. He straightens abruptly, and the pen slips from his fingers. The news has clearly caught him off guard.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. We’ve already sealed the energy coil."
He blinks rapidly. "Well, that’s wonderful news for you two, but you see, that’s another thing that excludes you from the program. You should not have been accepted in the first place."
"We didn’t know then."
"Well, now there are two reasons for you to leave the island."
I sigh. "Just great. I mentioned it only because I kinda hoped that if you had the full picture, you could find something that would help us stay on the island."
Eliano glances at me with his eyebrows raised, as if he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that I believed it for real. Duh! Every scenario has to be tried out!
Dr. Cooper does not respond, just sits there, pensive, studying us skeptically.
"So we have a week to get out of here?" asks Eliano in a grim tone.
"Most likely, yes," Dr. Cooper replies. "Do you have a house in the city?"
"No," Eliano says. "That’s the problem. We don’t have any fully safe place where we could officially stay. I may have some… alternatives, but they’re far from ideal. My situation is, to put it mildly, complicated."
Dr. Cooper rubs his chin, his gaze moving across our faces.
Then he says, "As far as I know, one of the requirements for Salt to live with you is that you own a house, not even an apartment. Those are the conditions imposed on the Second Chance program by the court. If they’re not met, Salt would have to return to state prison. "
Eliano’s head snaps up.
"That’s not an option."
"I have no influence over that," Dr. Cooper says carefully, hesitating.
He keeps tapping his pen on the desk. "Salt can be ordered back to prison in this situation, but what would happen to you and to the child afterward?
" He sighs. "I’ll have to present this case to Warden Gomez and our internal committee. "
"Aren’t there any exceptions?" Eliano asks. "They can’t risk his health or the pregnancy by putting him there."
"Well, I remember a case involving some legal complications around one of the couples at the facility where I worked before. They stayed for three months before leaving, despite the beta already being pregnant. Maybe it could be extended in your case to give you time to figure something out."
"I would be grateful if you could check with the committee and the warden."
"Okay. I’ll let you know what I find out," Dr. Cooper says.
We leave the office, both of us wearing grim expressions. Eliano looks like a brewing storm cloud. I can almost physically feel the weight of his dark energy inside myself.
We return to the unit in silence. Once inside, Eliano collapses onto the bed and says, "I’m sorry about this. I wish I could assure your safety out there, but… I can’t. Because of my damn family."
I stare at him for a moment, stunned by what he says. There is something in his voice that sounds like real pain. Is his alpha nature, his instinct to protect, suffering right now? I search for something to say. I know alphas are action-oriented, so maybe something along those lines.
"Isn’t there any way to withdraw some money from your account? Maybe do it directly at a bank, so tracking the transfer wouldn’t give Rocco anything?"
Eliano rests his hand against his forehead, partially covering his eyes.
"I tried that, but I found out my account is frozen."
"Frozen? I don’t understand."
"It’s tied to the Blue Lowen assassination attempt," Eliano says, his voice rough. "When Anzo failed to kill him, he decided the traitor was someone in the family. He suspected me and Mauro. We only escaped during the chaos when the FBI raided the fortress."
"Wait. But if Anzo is in prison now, your account…"
"It doesn’t matter. The accounts were closed the day before he was arrested. And Rocco is the new ‘CEO’ of the family enterprises."
"So only Rocco has the power to change their status?"
"Yes. Whoever’s the capo controls them. My brothers and I were just users, not owners. They forced us into obedience by holding the power to withhold money."
"That’s a bad situation." I sigh and sink onto the bed beside him, and for a moment we both lie on our backs, staring at the ceiling. Even though I fight it, that heavy mood, that fear, reaches me too.
"What’s going to happen to us, Eliano?"
I slide my hand over my stomach, completely flat. I don’t look pregnant yet. The child is still so small, and yet the awareness of this new life already carries a powerful feeling. A new way of thinking. The future never mattered to me. I lived in the present.
Not anymore.
"I just don’t want anything bad to happen to him," I whisper.
Eliano exhales, covering his eyes with his forearm. His voice is dark.
"Sadly, your True Mate turned out to be a washed-up ex-mobster the mafia wants erased. And now we have this situation."
Shocked by his intensity, I turned my head toward him.
"Stop. That’s not how I see you!"
"And yet, as a protector, I’m a bad choice," he says bitterly. "For now, I can’t give you safety or a calm place where you could carry this pregnancy to term. I have one option that Mauro gave me, but this place was already compromised once. The soldati were searching for us there, so…"
I lie on my side, moving my face closer to his. I look at his refined Roman profile, lift my hand, and gently place my palm over his heart. Or maybe I’m imagining it, but I can almost hear it beating fast and heavy.
Even though it’s hard to summon optimism, I whisper, "Maybe a solution will still appear. I want to believe in our happily ever after…"
I barely recognize my own tone; it’s kind of soft and shaky, with no edge to it. A lot has changed inside me.
"I’m not the perfect alpha for you, Salt. That’s for sure," he says, the bitterness still there. "Sometimes I’m amazed that Fate put us on the same path. Being True Mates doesn’t solve anything. It might even make it worse."
He turns toward me and looks me straight in the eyes.
"Let’s be real. I’ve got two years of law school I won’t even finish, so no degree.
My job? A small-time journalist writing articles.
Not much money in that unless you work for a major agency.
I only know how to fight, but what’s the point if I hate it?
So here it is. No house, no stable job, and no real safety, because the mafia could come for me anytime.
I think about it constantly, Salt. Ever since I came back. "
I blink, realizing how much weight and responsibility Eliano is carrying, what has been eating at him. Was he tormenting himself over this silently?
I was afraid to talk about the future before, struggling with myself, not knowing exactly what he was planning, fearing that I would steer the conversation into heavy territory, while he carried the same inside him.
The same struggle, the concern for our future, both consumed by worries about the safety of our growing family.
Wow.
I’m about to say something when, at that exact moment, my wristband lets out a sharp beep.
I glance at the small screen. A message flashes up, instructing me to report to the administrative building, room forty-seven.
"What could it be? Did Doctor Cooper really act that fast?"
Eliano glances at the screen, then at his wristband. "I think if this had anything to do with Doctor Cooper, we both would have received a message, so it must be something else. I’ll go with you."
"Okay," I say, jumping up from the bed. A wave of nerves rolls through me.
Eliano walks beside me with his head lowered, his energy dimmed, almost withdrawn. I want to say something, I want to do something that might untangle this entire mess, but I can’t. I have no idea where to even begin, and I feel a heavy sense of gloom and pessimism settling over me as well.
We enter the cafeteria building, then pass through the recreational wing, and finally head toward the administrative building.
When we stop in front of room number forty-seven, I realize it’s actually a small cubicle attached to a larger open space where several people are seated.
One of them looks up at me and says, "Salt Einarson? You have an incoming video call."
For a moment, I have no idea how to react.
"I’ll wait here for you," Eliano says quietly, coming to an abrupt stop.
"But… an incoming call? From whom? It can only be my court-appointed lawyer."
"You’ll see."
None of this makes sense, but I step into the small booth.
Inside, there is nothing but a table, a chair, and a screen mounted on the wall.
On the screen, a pulsing message reads: "Call pending."
The beta who escorted me in says, "I’m unlocking the connection now. You’ll be able to speak to the caller."
"Sure," I mumble.
He leaves, and a moment later the message disappears. An image appears on the screen, a figure seated in front of another camera. The person is turned slightly to the side, as if speaking to someone off-screen, but at the sound of a soft chime, they turn and look straight at me.
I stare for a few seconds, completely unable to process what I am seeing.
The person smiles shyly and lifts their hand a little, wiggling their fingers in a hesitant wave, like someone greeting from a distance.
"Hi, Salt…"
The next moment, darkness crashes down on me, and I slide out of the chair.
When I open my eyes, Eliano’s arms are around me, warm and grounding.
"Salt, open your eyes, open your eyes, baby…"
I blink slowly, confused, trying to understand why I am lying on the floor. Nothing makes sense.